Unstoppable (2010) - T. Scott's mechanically exciting final movie

♥♥♥

 

This poster for Tony Scott's Unstoppable is similar in its fiery style to past posters for speed-themed action movies such as Speed (1994)

 

A series of mistakes make a huge train full of dangerous chemicals and fuel race along without steering towards a string of larger cities. A veteran railroad engineer and a newly begun same pick up the challenge; to try to derail a catastrophe about to happen!

 

For the train and/or mechanically interested in general, Unstoppable has sequences that cultivates that mechanical fascination that will make the diaphragm tighten in suspense. English master filmmaker Tony Scott (The Hunger (1983)), whose 17th and last movie this is, - before his tragic 2012 suicide, - creates a fundamental excitement that works, up to a point. - Because we never really believe that things will evolve as catastrophically as projected. And because leads Chris Pine (Star Trek Beyond (2016)) and Denzel Washington's (Flight (2012)) family sup-blots continue to be distant and uninteresting.

Mark Bomback (Live Free or Die Hard (2007)) has written the script, based on a real 2001 incident in Ohio, which has its stakes raised drastically for the film. Rosario Dawson (Death Proof (2007)) is good as a train yardmaster. Unstoppable feels thick, but Scott keeps it mostly on its tracks.

 

Related reviews:
 
Tony Scott: Stoker (2013) - Chan-wook Park's over-styled American debut revolts and bores in turns (producer)  
Déjà Vu (2006) - T. Scott cuts a helluva suspense-cake!
Domino (2005) - T. Scott's bounty-hunter biopic a complete misfire, mega-flop  

Days of Thunder (1990) or, Very Little Thunder

Watch an interview with Chris Pine for the movie here

Cost: 85 - 100 mil. $

Box office: 167.8 mil. $

= Big flop

[Unstoppable premiered October 26 (Westwood, LA) and runs 98 minutes. Negotiations with Washington for the film fell through once, as Fox wanted him to accept 16 instead of 20 mil. $. Scott was also asked to cut his salary from 9 to 6 mil. $. Filming took place from August - November 2009 in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, California and New York. Production was halted for one day in November, as part of the train accidentally derailed. As with Scott's previous film, the remake The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009), - also a big flop, and a little bit more mediocre, - Unstoppable is a run-amok train action movie with Washington as an everyday type of guy hero. The film opened #2, behind holdover hit Megamind, to a 22.6 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed in the top 5 for a total of 5 weeks and grossed 81.5 mil. $ (48.6 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Japan with 12.8 mil. $ (7.6 %) and China with 9.8 mil. $ (5.8 %). The film was nominated for the Best Sound Editing Oscar, which it lost to Inception. Unstoppable is certified fresh at 87 % with a 6.9 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

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